The present invention relates generally to vehicle restraining systems, and more particularly to an electrical restraining system that disable selected vehicles.
There is a strong need for technology of stopping a vehicle without injury to the vehicle occupant or significant damage to the vehicle. A vehicle restraining system may be deployed at a security check point. With civilian insurgence and terror warfare becoming an increasing problem in many regions, vehicle stopping technology is in demand by the military, as well as law enforcement agencies.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0045618 discloses a vehicle restraining system which may employ nets to restrain the vehicle. The restraining system includes a container having a hinged door fixed on the truss assembly. The system also includes two spaced-apart guides that extend from within the container to a portion of the truss assembly that contacts the ground. A gravitationally deployable restraining device, stored in and deployed from the container, includes sleeves, clips and keepers to deploy the restraining device to snare a vehicle. The nets are susceptible to damage caused by the vehicle running into them. The restraining devices may need to be replaced after each use. In addition, the system may cause injury to the occupants and damage to the vehicle.
Other alternative systems include barrier systems, tire spike strips, and electrical based stoppers such as high-powered microwave based systems and direct injection systems. These devices have various disadvantages, such as poor reusability, failing to selectively target vehicles and their emplacement may severely impact normal traffic flow. It is thus desirable to develop a reusable, easy to deploy, inexpensive vehicle restraining system.
The present invention aims at developing a restraining system for non-lethally stopping an unauthorized vehicle by disabling the vehicle's control electronics with high-power electrical impulses.